Be Advised...

Ollie Tate is up for parole ... again!

Society does not need the would-be cop killer walking among us, so you know what we need to do

In September 2011, I posted an article letting you know that Ollie Tate — who had attempted to murder Ohio police officer Tony Luketic (as well as Luketic’s mom!) in November 1995 — was being considered for parole.

Due in large measure to the overwhelming pressure from concerned local citizens, the persistent hard work of the Luketic family, and the efforts of PoliceOne Members, Tate was denied parole.

Well, friends, Ollie Tate is coming up for parole again in January 2014. I’ve learned that there will be a meeting of the parole board on December 17. Below are instructions on how to make your opinion on this matter known to the parole board. First, though, we should briefly reflect on why this issue is so important.

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Deadly-Force Encounter
You may recall that in this incident, Luketic and his mom were at the Society National Bank in the Collinwood section of Cleveland (Ohio) when Ollie Tate entered the bank with the intention of robbing the place. Luketic — who was off duty and unarmed — observed Tate threaten to shoot one of the tellers, and a life-and-death struggle ensued.

Tate shot Luketic in the leg and shot Luketic’s 51-year-old mom in the stomach. The struggle continued. Tate shoved the gun into Luketic’s armpit and fired, leaving Luketic totally disabled, his arm held on only by his sweatshirt and leather coat.

Tate then stood over Officer Luketic, put the gun to the officer’s head, and pulled the trigger.

The five-shot revolver was empty.

I have not a shred of doubt that Tate would have executed Tony Luketic, and as many others as he could have that day, were it not for the fact that this cold-blooded would-be cop killer had run out of ammunition.

Society does not need Ollie Tate walking around among innocents, so you know what we need to do. Here are your instructions.

There are some hoops to jump through — it seems that parole boards are making it increasingly difficult to oppose an inmate’s parole — but I’m confident you’ll navigate these obstacles with ease.

1.) Your letter must include the name Ollie Tate and his inmate # A321120 — I recommend writing your draft in Word or some similar word processing program2.) Paste it into the Comments field on the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Parole Board Hearing Input website, fill out the other required fields completely, and press the Submit to Email button3.) Now, paste your letter into an actual email addressed to DRC.Victim.Services@odrc.state.oh.us4.) Please also copy stoptateparole@gmail.com so that Luketic family members can print up all the letters and bring them to the parole board hearing5.) If you so choose, paste your note in the comments area below as well — if we amass a bunch of comments I’ll print those out and send them to Tony Luketic directly.

Please be advised that it is absolutely essential that you use the link for the parole board as well as the email for the victim services and the Gmail address (step 4) that’s been set up to collect all these emails. It is equally critical that your email include the name Ollie Tate and Inmate #A321120.

If you chose to physically write a letter, the address for the parole board is:

Ohio Parole Board
770 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43222

If you want to write a letter to victim services, the address for that department is:

Office of Victim Services
770 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43222

Thanks, my friends. Stay safe out there.

About the author

Doug Wyllie is Editor at Large for PoliceOne, providing police training content on a wide range of topics and trends affecting the law enforcement community. Doug is the 2014 Western Publishing Association "Maggie Award" winner for Best Regularly Featured Digital Edition Column, and has authored more than 1,000 articles and tactical tips. Doug hosts the PoliceOne Podcast, Policing Matters, and is the host for PoliceOne Video interviews. Doug is a member of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), an Associate Member of the California Peace Officers' Association (CPOA), and a member of the Public Safety Writers Association (PSWA).
Contact Doug Wyllie